Tuesday, 20 May 2014

Her music video for Chandelier has already been seen over seven million times, but Australian musician Sia let the real star of her song’s vision shine during a performance on the Ellen DeGeneres show.

The 38-year-old singer appeared on the popular program on Monday, and kept her back to the audience, while 11-year-old dancer Maddie Ziegler stole the limelight.

The young Dance Moms star, who appears in Sia’s viral music video for the track, performed her contemporary dance routine on the studio set.Opening the performance just like in the creative video clip, Maddie posed in a solid stance as her silhouette glowed against a window.

She leapt off the window still and broke out into a series of statement dance steps where her body moved freely while her head shook with the beat of the tune. There was no doubt that Maddie is already an expert in her field, performing pirouettes and mid-air splits and adjusting her facial expressions to match the mood of the lyrics.

The young dancer wore a bodysuit and a bold blonde wig – the same attire she wore for the music video and a look similar to Sia’s in the past.

Sia remained in the background, with her back to the audience as she belted out the high notes.

At the end of the performance she left all applause for little Maddie, though talk show host Ellen did walk up to Sia and put her arm around her back and said, ‘that was amazing.’

Sia responded to the compliment with a simple ‘thankyou’ though still didn’t turn around to greet the raving audience.

The original music video released earlier this month was co-directed by the singer and Australian filmmaker Daniel Askill.

The cinematic video had over a million views within 24 hours and follows an animated Ziegler as she dances around a derelict house, jumping on mattresses and playing with curtains.

It has gained some A-List fans, with talk show host Ellen DeGeneres already praising the song before Sia had even appeared on her show.

Glee star Naya Rivera also had plenty of praise for the clip, calling it the 'best video ever'.

'Ok my jaw is completely dropped at how good this @Sia "chandelier" video is,' tweeted the 27-year-old.

'That girl Maddie is beyond talented. Best video ever.'

The highly stylised piece is faithful to the rest of 37-year-old Askill's work as a short film director, photographer and video installation artist.

The Sydney-based creator joined Sia, 38, behind the camera to capture the video which is consistent with her desire to stay out of the spotlight - despite being one of the biggest hitmakers in the world.

In October, 2013 she appeared on the cover of music industry bible Billboard magazine with a brown paper bag covering her head.

The Australian singer/songwriter has had a busy past few years, having hits Titanium with David Guetta and Wild Ones with Flo Rida, as well as going on to become one of the most sought after talents in the business.

Recently she finished producing Kylie Minogue's latest album, but has also worked with the likes of Lea Michele, Rihanna, Celine Dion, Beyonce, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez.

She's also getting ready to release her sixth studio album 1000 Forms Of Fear, with Chandelier the lead single.